In early July, Vancouver’s late-’90s post-hardcore greats By A Thread announced their return with “Void,” the band’s first new music in 14 years off their upcoming album Mirrored Life due out September 12th on Spartan Records. Today, the band unveil their second single “Tempest,” a haunting and reflective song that sinks into the brooding, reverb-drenched sound found across the record. Navigating through grief and loss, John Franco’s vocals sway between sullen and soaring in the five minute long track. The song’s rhythms build off the emotion of the lyrics, culminating with a heavy outro. The video for “Tempest,” filmed and edited by Ryan Dolejsi, captures the song through gripping black and white visuals and performance shots. Watch it HERE and stream the track HERE.
By A Thread made their first mark in 1999 with Last of the Daydreams (Revelation Records), a record that quietly carved out a place in melodic-hardcore history through introspective lyrics and explosive energy. In 2011, after a stretch of relative quiet and lineup shifts, the band released their self-titled second full-length. Written and recorded years earlier, that album was delayed by assorted complications, and its eventual arrival served as both reintroduction and evolution. After stepping away once again, core songwriters Sean Lande and John Franco regrouped during the pandemic with drummer Gabe Mantle (Gob), writing and recording Mirrored Life; bassist Carl McBeath joined later, rounding out the lineup for the album’s release and beyond.
From the start, the band knew they wanted Mirrored Life to revisit their early fire while fully embracing their growth. Reverb-heavy pedalboards and moody, deliberate tempos replaced the radio-ready instincts of earlier material. “This is essentially an anti-pop record,” Franco explains. “It’s meant to feel heavy.”
Self-produced by the band, recorded by Stuart McKillop at Raincity Recorders, and mixed by John Franco, the album breathes new life into By A Thread while staying true to the raw emotional core of their sound. Lyrically, the album dives deep into themes of loss, identity, and introspection. The songs course through existentialism, the current state of the world, how we treat others, self reflection and loss.
Lande expands:
“As we get older I do see people lose some of their fire and empathy. That hasn’t happened to me yet. I do hope I have better ways to deal with difficult things, and music is one of them. We’ve also experienced the death of people very dear to us. Speaking about these things is cathartic and brings more meaning to our music. We came from punk and hardcore and we still feel passionate about our inner and outer worlds.”
Mirrored Life is available for preorder now through Spartan Records.
By A Thread is John Franco – Guitar / Lead vocals, Sean Lande – Guitar, Gabe Mantle – Drums, and Carl Mcbeath – Bass.
